Snapshot: Blame it on the cocktails. These delicious libations are part of the reason it's so tough to get a seat in the small bar area of this industrial chic restaurant in the Pearl Brewery development. But the drinks are worth hovering uncomfortably close to patrons until they relinquish a perch by the bar.

Behind the bar: For those who prefer a boozy taste, head to the bottom of the drink menu where the barrel-aged cocktails lie in wait, like the $13 Barrel-Aged Tipperary, with Irish whiskey, green Chartreuse, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters, which is aged three months. Or try the modern cocktail called the Paper Plane, $12, made with bourbon, Nonino grappa, Aperol and lemon. Don't fret, wine fans: You can get a glass for $7.50. Or go for a beer, such as draft Southern Star Bombshell Blonde, $6; the rotating Mexicana draft beer with a price listed simply as “cheap”; or $2 Pearl in a can, which is served in a brown baggie, said bar manager Christopher Ware.

Who goes there? Date nighters who have (or want to appear to have) money, taste and a relaxed air.